Page 21 of Chained Knight

Oh, Christ, don’t ask me anything right now. She nodded. Hopefully they thought her a dimwit, a stupid mortal without two brain cells to rub together, and maybe she could… what? Pick a moment to run off into the woods?

Well, if hypothermia wasn’t a danger and pondwater was capable of keeping her alive, why not? The only problem with the plan was those giant shiny medieval-armor robots. If she came across those on her own, it wouldn’t end well.

Plus, she didn’t know how long the water would work. What if it was some kind of drug or appetite suppressant, with unpleasant side effects on continued use?

They were waiting for her to say something, not just make an affirmative headwiggle. Ari swallowed, hard, and wished she hadn’t turned down a shot from the canteens. “I heard a group of horses, I think. Then a little while later, a single one.”

The men exchanged meaningful glances. Nobody asked how she could be sure, or questioned her ability to differentiate how many were on the road.

“Hemust have seen the Moon arisen.” Sarle shifted again; Ari realized he wasn’t fidgeting but moving so his legs didn’t go numb. The others did the same at intervals. All in all, they seemed very comfortable with hiking.

“The traitor, too. And the Golden speak to their master somehow, that much we know.” Jazarl rubbed callused palms together, thoughtfully. “They were already after her.”

So this Bright King was some sort of traitor, or usurper? Well, these guys were dressed like Robin Hood illustrations; she could assume a King John with little trouble. Was he a mad scientist building robots in some castle like the Keep? It wouldn’t put a dent in her theory, but it was certainly an interesting fillip.

None of that answered why the robots would be after Ari. Had she heard that bit correctly?

“We hunted at least half a dozen near the Keep before finding your trail.” Darjeth looked a lot perkier after some hydration; the blond man handed the canteen back to Sarle. “Each alone, and moving in search-pattern. They will serve the faithless and his Law no more.”

Sarle unfolded, shaking dark hair out of his eyes with a quick flicking movement, and offered Naithor another drink. “There is plenty,” he said, quietly. “Our lady purified a spring surrounded bynaryinas the Moon rose.”

More significant looks. Darjeth was still studying Ari as if he expected her to grow another head or make some kind of embarrassing bodily noise. “Then I ask her pardon for my words upon our meeting,” he said, finally. “We are bound for Gesthel, I presume? The Grey Lady will be overjoyed.”

I hear the words, and the translator seems to still be working. And I really don’t like where this is going. The robots couldn’t be after her, she’d just gotten here, for Chrissake.

Maybe it was time to speak up, despite the danger. “Excuse me.” It was a variety of theirI ask your pardon, but her accent was different than theirs; she could write whole papers on this language back home.

Too bad she wasn’t in school anymore. Naithor accepted the canteen and began quaffing, but his green gaze rested on her as his Adam’s-apple bobbed.

“It seems like you have a lot going on,” she continued, squeezing her arms more tightly. Would she bruise? And if she did would pondwater cure the wound, like it seemed to have helped her throat and scraped hands? “I don’t want to be in the way, so maybe I should just…”

Five pairs of eyes stared at her; Majan still didn’t turn from watching the road. The set of his shoulders said he perhaps wanted to—a subtle movement, but one she was used to decoding. Sometimes the only warning a woman got was a twitch, half an irritated breath, a flicker in peripheral vision.

“I do not quite understand.” Now Jazarl’s blue eyebrows were drawing together, his forehead puckering. “What are you suggesting, my lady?”

“Well…” She tried her softest, most reasonable tone; it sometimes worked on Mike. Not often, but a girl used what she had. “You’ll travel faster to this Gesthel without me. I’m a stranger here, and there’s no reason why those things should be?—”

“A stranger?” Darjeth glanced at Jazarl, as if his own invisible translator was on the fritz. Were they all speaking different languages, a reverse Babel? “By silver, my lady, what do you think will happen ifhefinds us and learns we were so craven as to let you wander alone?”

“I don’t know whoheis.” It was easy to lay the same stress on the pronoun, she found out. And it wasn’t a lie—they could be talking about someone other than the chained man.

Right. You don’t even believe that yourself. Ari longed for a sketchbook, a few pencils, and some uninterrupted time to think about all this absurdity. But she was miserably certain she’d find herself attempting to draw a strong-jawed face with burning dark eyes, the picture unreeling from her fingers without conscious volition.

Mom had been so proud of her sketches, and thought Ari should go to art school instead. But exposing that part of herself to strangers for grades seemed like the worst thing in the world, at least until she got married. She hadn’t really had time to draw since just before her wedding, and she missed it.

A lot.

“A mortal, newly arrived…” Alzarien made a helpless gesture. “You must remember something.”

Whatever they were expecting, it wasn’t happening. “All I remember is the storm.” It wasn’t really a lie, she only had a series of half-baked assumptions and a working theory. “And I mean it. You should just go on without me.”

The big shining robots couldn’t truly be afterher. If they were simply chasing whoever happened to be with resistance fighters, though, she was a liability. Her urge to escape, to get away from strangers and find a quiet corner to curl up in, was overwhelming.

It was like attempting to politely exit a frat party right before its voice mutated from the roar of simple drunken fun to the subliminal buzzing of predatory intent. Ari had just hit the limit of her ability to deal with current events. A hole or a handy fallen log to cower behind while the rest of this brave new world ignored her sounded downrightfantastic.

“We cannot leave you unguarded, in woods hunted by the Bright King’s servants,” Jazarl said, stiffly. “We may not look it now, my lady Ari, but we are knights of the Keep. Such a thing would not be fitting.”

So the huge dark spiny castle was indeed their home. A lot more made sense now, but unfortunately she’d probably pissed them off with what was meant to be a helpful suggestion. An uncomfortable silence reigned for several long, excruciating seconds.

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